Swept Away
by Backhand
Summary: An AU take on another familiar story...Piper, Alex, a dash of magic and...voila! Vauseman all the way, baby...


Inspired by Alex's line in the greenhouse in 3x13...

None of these wonderful characters belong to me.

* * *

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom... and in this kingdom, there lived a widower with a daughter named Cinderella.

Cinderella was a beautiful girl-tall, with long black hair and dazzling emerald eyes. Though she dearly missed her beloved mother Diane, she was close to her father, and was as content as a motherless child could be.

Her father, however, felt she needed a mother's care, and so one fateful day, he married again and took as his new wife a woman who had two daughters of her own-one named Drizella and the other Anastasia. The daughters were of similar age to Cinderella, but had none of her finer qualities.

Their mother (the Lady Figueroa) was _nothing_ like Cinderella's late mother, for (it was later revealed) she was mean and jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty.

It bears noting, at this point, that "Cinderella" was merely a cruel nickname for our heroine (courtesy of her fireplace-cleaning chores); her actual name was Alex, so for the purposes of our story, we will refer to her thusly.

Unfortunately for Alex, her father died unexpectedly, leaving his only child to the tender mercies of Lady Figueroa and her vain and selfish daughters. The three of them squandered much of the estate money, and in order to make do, assigned Alex an assortment of duties (of which laundry was her least favourite) and she became, in essence, their servant.

Alex was gentle and sensitive, but she was a bit of a badass, for although she played the role of dutiful stepdaughter, she still had a rebellious side. Much to her stepmoter's displeasure, she had made friends with the animals in the barn and the mice and birds who lived in the chateau.

Alex had a special fondness for two mice named Jaq and Gus. Jaq was an outgoing chatterbox who talked about everything under the sun (his favourite story being about the eight months he spent living in a tree) and Gus was a plump little creature whom Alex had freed from one of the chateau's mousetraps. After making his acquaintance, she had presented him with a tiny white tank top undershirt she'd made, which became his signature look.

But not all of the chateau's animal residents were as loveable. The wicked stepmother had a cat named Lucifer, a large feline with sleek black hair and prominent whiskers (which, truthfully, looked more like a mustache), who delighted in tormenting Jaq and Gus. He loved to swagger through the house, finding ways to irritate the hapless mice on an almost-daily basis. Gus, though, would put on a brave face and, when Lucifer's back was turned, put up his fists and squeak out taunts like "Fight the power! Fight the cat!". All this was for show, however, as Gus truly feared Lucifer, as did all his compatriots.

* * *

"Cinderellaaaaa! Cinderellaaaaa!" her stepmother and stepsisters screamed in unison from their bedrooms

"All right! I'm coming!", Alex replied in an exasperated tone, as she prepared their morning tea. Lucifer, ever the troublemaker, had trapped poor Gus under a teacup, which, in her haste to deliver the trays, Alex had failed to notice . Anastasia, however, did not (after lifting her cup from its saucer) and she was highly _unamused._ Despite Alex's protests that it wasn't her fault, her stepmother scolded Alex harshly and decided that a small mountain of extra chores would be apt punishment.

" _ **I'm**_ in trouble?", Alex asked incredulously. "Are you serious? This is effing insane!", she added in disbelief.

Her stepmother, though, would not back down. "Cinderella", she intoned, "I suggest you take your punishment and walk away, or your next stop is going to be a locked attic."

* * *

Meanwhile at the royal palace, King William was engaged in a frank talk with Grand Duke Healy about his only child, her Royal Highness, the Princess Piper. The King desperately wanted grandchildren, but his daughter had yet to find a suitor. He always had a soft spot for her, but was worried about her future.

"My daughter is getting further and further behind in life. She needs to marry and settle down, but she's a romantic", he lamented, "...and much too fussy. For example, she told me she wants warm, but she also wants hot...and then something about fireworks and finding somebody she can have adventures with!"

The Duke nodded silently in assent, and then the King suddenly exclaimed "I have it! After she returns from her travels abroad, I shall host a grand ball-by royal command-in honour of her return. She won't suspect a thing, but surely, a suitable groom for Piper will be among those attending!" His face beamed with excitement.

"Duke", he continued, "you are charged with sending out the invitations. The ball will be held tonight!" And with that, he left the Duke to his not inconsiderable duties.

* * *

Drizella and Anastasia were all aflutter about the ball. They both had beaus who had also received invitations and with whom they planned to attend the event. "I hope they play some Smiths and Depeche Mode", Drizella said wistfully, lounging on her sister's bed.

Anastasia, meanwhile, was looking through her closet at the vast array of dresses she owned. "What do you think of this one?", she asked, holding up a pale blue gown.

"Ohmigod, you're not going to wear _that_ thing, are you?", asked Drizella with a disapproving look.

"It's my colour...I'm wearing it", Anastasia replied with finality.

When news about the invitation reached her own ears, Alex asked her stepmother if she, too, could attend the ball. She didn't have a beau, but the invitation was extended to all who resided at the chateau, and she was excited about going to her very first ball...and a royal one at that.

"I don't see any reason why you cannot... _if_ you get all your work done.. _and_ find something suitable to wear", Lady Figueroa smiled...evily.

At these words, Alex immediately left to work on her ball gown. Her work, however, was cut short as she was called away by her stepmother. While she toiled away at her chores, her little animal friends sewed a dress that had once belonged to her late mother into a gown fit for a royal ball. To complete the garment, they added beads that Antasia had thrown out, and a sash that Drizella had discarded.

Upon seeing the gown, Lady Figueroa agreed that the dress was suitable...but didn't fail to point out that the beads and sash had previously belonged to her daughters. Alex's jealous stepsisters laughed cruelly at her handiwork, and criticized her choice of footwear. "Your shoes are bobos... not real Louboutins like _maman_ 's", Anastasia snarked.

"And you stole my sash!", Drizzella spat out. With this, she tore the sash off, ruining the entire dress in the process. "You know what, Stretch? Your _derrière_ just got uninivited", she added in a mean tone of voice.

Alex, though shocked, put on a brave face and pretended to slough off the bad news.

"Oh well", she said cooly, "I just got uninvited to the most depressing party *ever*..."

"What will I do now to not make me want to kill myself?" she added sarcastically, and with an eyeroll, left the room.

* * *

Alex barely managed to maintain her composure (not wanting to show weakness to those who had so cruelly dashed her hopes of attending the ball) until she broke down in the garden. She rarely left the chateau and its environs, and deeply longed for other human company. Her animal friends heard her crying and slowly crept towards her.

"I had grand plans" she sobbed, "Now I can't even get past the swirling darkness in my brain long enough to land on anything."

They tried their best to comfort her-Jaq tried to cheer her up by reminding her that that evening's dinner might be tacos (Alex's favourite, next to coq au vin)-but it was to no avail.

Suddenly, a very tall woman in a long hooded cloak materialized out of thin air. "Baby, you can't go to the ball looking like _that_!", she smirked, wagging her finger at Alex.

"Holy...sugar!", Alex exclaimed, "You must _be...a Fairy Godmother?_ "

"Yes, honey...and the _first_ thing you need is a pumpkin", and with that she waved her magic wand and a large pumpkin hopped in from the pumpkin patch. Waving her wand again, she transformed it into a beautiful carriage, and then with a flick of her wrist, turned the mice into four horses. With another wave, Alex's faithful old horse Major turned into a coachman, and her trusty dog Bruno (whom Gus nicknamed "Little Boo") into a footman.

"Now about your dress...You'll need something simple but sophisticated...", she continued. With one last wave of her magic wand, Alex's torn dress was turned into a beautiful ball gown, along with glass slippers for her to wear. "Bibbity-bobbity-bootylicious!", the Fairy Godmother proclaimed proudly.

Alex was speechless. "One thing I forgot to mention", her Godmother added, "You have only until midnight. On the stroke of twelve, everything will be as it was before... so you'd better get your you-know-what outta there before _that_ happens." And with this, she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

Stepping into her beautiful new coach, Alex reminded the coachman that the ball had already started. At her words, he urged the horses forward, and Alex and her small entourage raced to the ball.

* * *

Princess Piper was nearly as tall as Alex, but she was just as beautiful. She had golden hair and beautiful sapphire eyes of the bluest blue. At the ball, she met many eligible young men, but none struck her fancy. In fact, she was getting very bored (and was yawning openly at this point)...until she spotted a tall, beautiful girl with raven-black hair at the entrance to the Grand Ballroom. She seemed somewhat lost (it being a massive palace), so Piper quietly approached her.

When their eyes locked, Alex felt like time had stopped.  
She had never had that kind of feeling about anyone, and the beautiful blonde walking towards her seemed... _different._

Alex smiled warmly at her, and her smile was returned.

The Princess, in turn, had never felt a spark like this before. She'd liked hot guys and hot girls (in a shallow kind of way)...but her feelings towards this woman were unique. Call it magic, call it a fairy-tale moment. Whatever it was, it was something neither woman had experienced before...and their meeting, though coincidental, seemed predestined ...or _inevitable_ , one might say.

As she introduced herself, Princess Piper made a bold move and gently kissed Alex's outstretched hand. A chill went through Alex's body... and not just because her gown was made of such light material (it being a magic gown and all).

"I've never seen _you_ before...", Piper began, flashing her dazzling smile at Alex.

"Well, I've been stuck in a rundown chateau with my witch of a stepmother and her two awful daughters", Alex chuckled.

"Beauty like yours shouldn't be hidden from the world", Piper murmured.

"Well, I'm here... and I'm yours for the evening", Alex said somewhat cockily.

* * *

And so they spent the rest of the evening dancing, and getting to know each other. During one particularly sensuous dance (named after a frothy dairy-based libation), Duke Healy muttered "There's a lot of touching going on down there." The King just sighed.

They walked through the palace gardens, held hands as they crossed a small bridge, and danced alone on the lawn. Returning to Grand Ballroom together, they drew whispers of surprise; their chemistry was palpable and yet no one knew who the mysterious raven-haired girl was. In the middle of a particularly close dance, Piper put her mouth next to Alex's ear and quietly whispered "Let's get out of here".

Alex's heart skipped a beat. "But we're really not supposed to leave the ball...", she replied, evenly.

Piper had spent her entire life trying to live up to her father's expectations, but she was done with that.

"Rules aren't any fun", she replied softly...and with that, she gently took Alex's wrist and pulled her out of the Grand Ballroom, to the shock of the invited guests, and their royal host.

"What are we doing here?", Alex asked in puzzlement, as they finally stopped inside the palace chapel.

Piper stared into Alex's eyes. Sapphire met emerald.

Alex's confusion left her face when Piper-suddenly, but gently- took Alex's face into her splayed hands (hands that were _so_ soft, Alex thought) and kissed her with a passion previously unknown to the princess. Alex kissed her back, winding her hands in Piper's gorgeous flaxen locks. Their tongues fought for dominance (Alex winning this round)... but before they could get any further, the clocks in the palace being to chime in unison.

"Darn! It's midnight...", Alex muttered..."...and I haven't even met the Princess!". Piper's reaction was one of utter surprise... but she didn't have time to explain, for with those words, Alex dashed out of the chapel.

"Wait!", she pleaded "I don't even know your name! How will I find you?"...but Alex was already at the Grand Staircase. She fled to her waiting coach, but in the process, lost one of her glass slippers on the stairs. The Grand Duke (who had run after her), however, saw her lose the slipper, and took it for safekeeping.

* * *

The clocks started chiming... _once, twice, thrice.._.as Alex's coach sped home. The King's men chased after it on horseback... _four five, six._..the clocks continued to chime...The coachman urged the horses forward... _seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven_ times the timepieces chimed...but Alex arrived home _just_ in time as they struck twelve. Her ball gown, though, had turned to rags, the carriage had turned back into a pumpkin and the horses became mice again.

Rather than being disappointed, Alex was exhilarated.

"She was wonderful", she sighed as she told her friends about Piper, and thanked them for making her night so special. In her mind, though, she couldn't forget Piper's last words...and she began to worry that she'd never see her again.

Alex needn't have worried, though, as the Princess was adamant that her father find the girl to whom the glass slipper belonged. He initially refused, but finally relented, Princess Piper being his beloved only child. Thus he charged the Duke with the responsibilty of finding the maiden in question, even if it meant his old friend going literally from door to door throughout the entire kingdom.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the chateau...

Realization had finally dawned on Alex's wicked stepmother that it was her own stepdaughter who had enchanted the Princess that night. Word had spread that the King was seeking the beautiful young woman in question. To prevent her stepdaughter from being discovered, Alex was locked up in her tiny attic bedroom (which sadly, now felt like a prison to her).

Working as a team, Jaq and Gus managed to steal the key to Alex's room from Lady Figueroa's pocket. Unfortunately, Lucifer ambushed them, but Bruno chased him away (with Lucifer eventually being driven out an open window), allowing the brave mice to slide the key under Alex's door, thus freeing her.

Meanwhile downstairs in the parlour...

Alex's stepsisters were having no luck fitting their large, ungainly feet into the dainty glass slipper brought to them by the Duke. Seeing Alex descending the stairs after bring freed, her wicked stepmother tripped the coachman carrying the slipper, and it shattered on the floor. Alex quickly produced the other glass slipper (which fit her perfectly, of course) and thus the quest to find the ball's mystery maiden had ended.

* * *

Two weeks later, Alex married her Princess (to the displeasure of Piper's father) and a carillion of bells announced the happy occasion. Jaq, Gus and all of Alex's animal friends from the chateau attended, and they beamed in happiness upon seeing that their beloved friend's dreams of happiness did, in fact, come true.

To celebrate the wedding, there was a huge banquet and near its conclusion, Alex softly whispered into Piper's ear: "So babe...Have you finally decided where we'll go on our honeymoon?

"Anywhere with you, Al..." she replied smiling at her bride with love,"...but I was thinking of Tahiti. I've heard they have lovely beaches there..."

"Your wish is my command, Princess", Alex grinned.

And they lived happily ever after.

~THE END~

* * *

 **A/N: I** **set myself** a **challenge with this fic to not use the same "Orange" characters (except for Alex and Piper, of course) as** I **did in my first fic. This made it doubly hard to write this story, but** **I had fun doing it. Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading this far.**


End file.
